Smart scheduler manages pill routine

PillDrill tracks scheduled doses of medicine and sends reminders and updates, remotely or at-home.

Designed for ease of use, PillDrill sees a personalized medication schedule and a simple scanning system, which track dosages and alert users or caregivers when it’s time to take the next dose. The system is centered on a smartphone-sized device called the PillDrill Hub. Each PillDrill kit comes with a Hub, two weekly pill organizers, 12 scanning tags and a Mood Cube.

Kept in the home, the Hub runs on wifi and gives users an audio and visual reminder when the next dose of medicine is due. Once attached to the medicines, the scanning tags only need to be waved over the Hub to log a pill as taken. When a user out, the Hub can be programmed to send alerts — via text or the PillDrill app — and remind them when they return home, or log a dose as taken or skipped.

For those using PillDrill to help care for someone else, the system can be programmed to send alerts only when necessary, such as when someone misses a regularly scheduled dose. The Mood Cube is used to indicate feelings or levels of pain — great, good, ok, bad and awful — and can be scanned at any time. Detailed online reports can then be created to track the efficacy of each medicine.

PillDrill was inspired by its founder’s experience of remotely supporting his mother after she had a hip operation. With the increased availability of remote healthcare through walk-in telemedicine kiosks, and devices designed to support older people living alone, how else could remote health and elder care be combined?